False Impressions
by in wonderlandxX
Summary: “‘Oh quit being such a wet blanket, you’re worse than my parents.’ Jasper winced.” A sweet comedy about the journey to love and the rejects along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Hullo! :)

First, there are a few key factors that you need to be aware of before reading this fanfic:

1. Everyone is HUMAN – this means there are no ally or enemy groups. The characters will thus have differing personalities from the books and they may hang out with people they normally wouldn't. Deal with it and don't let your prejudices get in the way.

2. Because they're all human, I may tweak their physical appearances a bit. But you'll still be able to recognize them, no worries.

3. There are mentions of college and things pertaining to it. I'm still in high school so I may make a few mistakes; please be patient with me.

4. Seeing as I'm in high school, obviously I have no clue what I'm going on about when I talk about the café and the complex system. Everything I say most likely stems from Wikipedia knowledge so if I say anything or use any terms wrongly, forgive me!

5. I've never lived in New York (I can only dream) so some places may be fictional – which is works out alright seeing as this is a fictional story.

6. This has nothing to do with the movie Serendipity, just that the cafe happens to also share the same name. Also, I changed the name from my previous title of Providence because of a little hiccup on my part. Sorry for the confusion!

7. The only thing I own is Marty, the sex-addict. Yay Marty!

Enjoy!

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Chapter One

Mary Alice Brandon, who refused to answer to anything but Alice, woke with a start on Saturday morning.

Brown eyes blinking open, then shut, she groaned from her fetal position on the bed. Eyes still squeezed shut she reached over with her left arm and felt around the bedside table for her cell phone. Finding it, she wrapped her hand around the chunky object before grabbing it and looking at the time.

The cell phone innocently informed her that it was 5:17 A.M.

"Fuck!" Swearing more blasphemies under her breath, she jumped out of bed and began rummaging through her room for her uniform. Clothes were strewn all over the ground, leaving only patches of wood boards open to air.

"Skirt, skirt, where is my bleeding skirt?" She chanted before pulling out a wrinkled black cloth out of a sad looking pile of clothing on her equally sagging arm chair. "Aha! Now where is that shirt?"

Twelve minutes later and she had finally found all the clothing needed to complete her uniform and had already donned on said ensemble. Smoothing down her skirt, she gazed at herself critically in the mirror. The skirt was plain, with not a frill or design in sight. It modestly fell an inch or two above her knees and made her ass look rather nice Alice mused as she stared happily at her backside. The shirt was just that: a soft, cream dress shirt, without the bothersome collar, that buttoned all the way up till the beginning hint of cleavage. She rolled the sleeves up and ran a hand through her black curls. If there was one perk of having short hair, it was that she didn't need to bother with it every time she woke up late for work.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she rushed towards the kitchen. Glancing at the time ("Shit, it's already 5:48?"), she grabbed a pop-tart in one hand, and with the other grabbed her coat and bag and quickly slipped on a pair of black high heels before running out the door.

Living on the third floor of a five story apartment complex, Alice decided to take the stairs. The building itself was old enough to be her great-great-relative, which meant that the elevator mirrored the movements of said relative. Skipping steps, she slipped on her coat and began munching on her pop-tart.

_Oh yum. I had no clue I still had s'more flavored pop-tarts left. _

She finally reached the first floor and raced through the lobby, shouting through a crumb-infested mouth, "Hiya Marty!"

Marty the lobbyist was a 50 year old who did nothing but read sex novels. He was supposedly there to help the residents with any problems they had, but the only problem that Marty had ever helped solve for Alice was her leaking sink, and even then he hadn't been much help. Still, she adored the old grump, who always baked cookies on Christmas and left a batch in front of her door, although he always denied it.

"Uh," he grunted, too absorbed in his latest smut.

Pushing through the doors, Alice had to pause and adjust her eyes to the sudden brightness of the morning. A light wind ruffled her black curls and she grinned into the sun.

_I love Autumn._

Humming a light tune, she began walking down the sidewalk, eyes drinking in the life around her. The whole neighborhood was rather old, but that didn't diminish the quaint character of the locale. Trees dutifully lined the street, leaves brilliantly displaying their red and golden hues before their final closing scene. There were plenty of boutiques and cozy restaurants, and Alice grinned and waved at Aria who was rearranging the chocolate display in the window of her candy store.

There wasn't anywhere else Alice would have dreamed of living.

After ten minutes of walking, she finally reached her destination. Serendipity was a small café where she had been working part time in order to help ease the rent of her apartment. Though her parents agreed to shoulder the cost of her education at New York University, Alice had to pay for her own apartment. Uneasy about borrowing too much money from the bank, she had done a few odd jobs. So far, her job as a waitress was by far her most favorite, a fact that irked her parents.

"Alice, why can't you get an internship at a local newspaper? I thought you wanted to be a journalist."

She _did_ want to become a journalist. But lately, she was simply content with the way things were: writing for her school newspaper and going to Serendipity to work during the morning and night shifts on the weekend and sometimes during the weekdays.

Sighing and pushing her nagging parents out of her mind (_Go away_ she thought with a scowl) she entered the café.

"You're ten minutes late for your shift," a monotone voice informed her.

_Boo – busted._ Fixing her features into a remorseful expression, Alice turned around to face Rosalie. Like Alice, she was wearing a waitress uniform.

"Okay, yes I know, but this time I actually have a valid reason Rose! See, when I woke up this morning, early might I add, my next door neighbor, Ms. Tillie, bless her old soul, knocked on my door asking for – "

Before Alice could continue, Rosalie cut her off, green eyes narrowed, "Save it Alice."

A warm chuckle greeted the two, and Alice perked up when she saw Emmet McCarty, whose tan face was split with a handsome smile. Unlike the two who helped serve and take orders, Emmet was the sous chef at Serendipity, and a brilliant one at that.

"And what are my two favorite girls up to now?"

Pouting, Alice pointed a reproaching finger towards Rosalie, "Rose is being a bitch."

Spluttering, Rosalie opened her mouth in retaliation when Emmet kissed her unsuspecting lips. Breaking away, he winked at her and huskily whispered, "Rose, it's not nice to be so mean early in the morning."

Smothering back a grin, Alice gave Rosalie a small victory dance behind Emmet's shoulders and left the two lovers to be.

Walking away, Alice could hear Rosalie grumbling, "Traitor."

Emmet's laughter greeted her accusation and suddenly the two were silent. Alice rolled her eyes. No doubt he was shutting up Rosalie the only way he knew how; by kissing her until both were breathless and blushing like high school students. When Alice had first started working in Serendipity seven months ago, the two were already well integrated into the café's routine. According to Emmet they had met in high school and it was love at first sight for both. Rosalie had merely snorted and mumbled under her breath, "You mean you stalked me for the first half of high school."

Shooting her a wicked smile, Emmet gave her a short but hard kiss on the mouth.

"You know you liked it."

The two were almost complete opposites of each other. While Emmet was loud and a complete goof-ball, Rosalie was more withdrawn and could be blunt to the point of being mistaken for a bitch. But Alice had never met a better matched couple and she loved them fiercely.

Slipping on the skirt apron, Alice went into the kitchens to see if she could quickly steal a cup of tea. A blonde hair and blue eyed vision greeted her.

"James!" Alice gave him a delighted bear hug.

James scowled down at her, "Hey now, you can't always go around randomly hugging me or else my bad boy image might go up in flames."

Laughing, she gave him a playful shove before looking around for a familiar mug.

"Please, you get all emotional and weepy whenever somebody complains about one of your dishes."

"Oi, I'll have you know that cooking is an art and artists are sexy as hell. Just because I want others to appreciate my work doesn't make me any less appealing."

Alice scoffed, "Right."

"Isn't it a bit early for you two to be arguing already?" Jasper Hale suddenly appeared with an apron in one hand and a sunny yellow mug in the other.

In the span of a second Alice went from standing next to James to standing in front of Jasper with her hands held out and a look of adoration in her eyes. Jasper blinked, shook his head, and placed the mug in her hand before walking away.

Leaning against a counter and taking a slow sip from the cup, Alice let out a happy noise.

James shook his head, "Such a simple mind."

Unperturbed, Alice took her time swallowing before retorting, "Believe me, Jasper has way more girls falling after him than you do."

"You've got to be kidding me – that twerp?"

"Hey, this twerp happens to be here." Jasper had reappeared just as quietly and suddenly as his first appearance.

James stuck out a tongue while Alice lifted her mug in thanks.

Continuing on, despite Jasper standing in the same room, she nodded thoughtfully, "Absolutely. He's got his looks going for him and he's charming to boot. And the mind boggling part is he's not gay."

James smirked, "In other words he's a parents' wet dream."

Jasper frowned.

"Uh, guys, can we please stop talking about me like this? It's a bit degrading."

James ignored him and plowed on, his grin growing by the second, "I, on the other hand, satisfy and go beyond the expectation of every girls' dream. Hell, I leave them panting for more."

Wrinkling her pert nose Alice grumbled, "Gross" into her mug.

James shrugged.

"Hey, I can't help what I am. That's just the way things are."

To both Alice's and Jasper's relief, Rosalie entered the kitchen with her hands on her hips and a slim brow rose in expectance. That only meant one thing: it was time to get their asses out of the kitchen and to start serving some customers.

Despite being a Saturday, the morning was surprisingly slow. Alice gazed out the window; with the sun shining and the wind being minimal, they had decided to put some tables outside for customers wanting to enjoy the weather. She and Jasper had played a quick game of rock, paper, and scissors to determine who would get to serve outside.

After five tries ("You cheated! I demand another round!"), Alice had lost and spectacularly at that.

Casting one last forlorn look and ignoring Jasper's cheerful wave, she turned and walked back into the kitchen. Emmet was chatting quietly in the corner with Rosalie, and every now and then his hand would play with the blonde strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. James on the other hand was making a salad, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth and his brow furrowed in utter concentration.

Alice chuckled. _So dramatic._

Looking around the kitchen, she frowned.

"James?"

He grunted.

"Where's Victoria?"

"Dunno."

Although his tone was intentionally indifferent, Alice could see his shoulders tense and his mouth flatten to a stiff frown. Victoria, the head chef of Serendipity, was perhaps the sexiest woman alive that Alice had ever met in her short 21 years. A curvaceous red-head, she practically oozed pheromone and her constantly quirked lips knew that as well. She was wonderfully kind, but could be deliberately cruel as well – especially when it concerned James.

When Alice had first started working at the café, Victoria and James constantly fought like cats and dogs. To this day they still saved their best sneers for each others' eyes only. But whenever James thought nobody was looking, Alice would catch him casting looks of such _yearning_ at the oblivious siren that her own heart would break. Victoria was too stubborn to notice and James was too stubborn to change that.

Rosalie piped up from her corner, "She's coming around noon; had to go to the doctors first."

"Is she sick?"

Once again, the indifferent tone. Alice scowled; she wished he would just admit that he was concerned.

Rosalie simply shrugged, but Alice could see the worry in her eyes. Although Rose would deny it, she constantly mothered everybody at the café. She was surprisingly sweet like that.

"Well, she better not be or else she'll contaminate everybody," James muttered, viciously adding the finishing touches to the salad before thrusting it towards Alice's direction, "table six."

"Whoa, you might want to be more careful with the dressing in the future. I don't think that they can handle such abuse," Alice joked, wanting to see a smile on James's troubled face.

Instead he grunted and muttered an apology before going off to make another dish. Kissing Rosalie tenderly on the forehead, Emmet went to go join him, no doubt to interrogate James. As both Rosalie and Alice went out of the kitchen, Rosalie took the salad out of Alice's hands.

"I'll serve this. Go see if anyone's glasses need refilling."

"Yes ma'am," Alice gave a mini salute and grinned at Rosalie's twitch of the lips.

For the greater part of the morning, Alice went from table to table bearing her water pitcher. She would stop to chat with the regulars and would pause at the door from time to time, russet eyes furtively looking for one specific customer. Not seeing him, she would then deflate and then continue on her journey of refilling the glasses of parched customers.

As it neared noon, more and more people began piling into the café.

Rushing towards the kitchen, Alice immediately yelled upon opening the doors, "Where the hell is my order for table twelve? They're starting to get impatient and it's not pretty!"

"Wait, I'm almost finished," Emmet swore under his breath, "where the fuck is Victoria when you need her?"

"I'm here bear boy, so chill out," Victoria drawled.

"Victoria!" A smile lit Alice's features.

"I wish you would stop calling me that," Emmet grumbled, his dimples even more prominent when he frowned. Ever since Rosalie had 'accidently' revealed that Emmet still slept with his stuffed teddy that he had had since he was a young child, Victoria constantly teased him about it.

"I'll stop when it starts getting old."

"Which means never," Emmet gave a defeated sigh.

Victoria gave him a pretty smile before putting on the white chef's coat. Tying up her wild curls, she went to go wash her hands before moving to join Emmet and James.

"About time you got here," James bit out, shooting a nasty glare in her direction.

"Aw, hope you didn't miss me too much," Victoria retorted, her words dripping with sugar and venom.

Alice groaned.

"Quit it. We don't have time for arguments, and Emmet I thought you were almost finished?"

Letting out an annoyed huff, he placed the finished dish onto the counter.

"God, people just don't appreciate that these things take time."

Alice took the plate with a laugh, "You're almost sounding as bad as James."

Before Alice left the kitchen, Victoria managed to halt her with three words.

"Alice, he's here."

James raised a confused brow.

"He? Who the hell is – oh. Him."

Flushing red, Alice shot both Emmet and James a glare but that didn't stop them from letting out amused sniggers. Victoria, seeing Alice's discomfort, barked out, "Who told you to stop and start giggling like little girls? Go back to work."

Giving Victoria a relieved smile and a mouthed 'thank you', Alice left the kitchen and distractedly gave table twelve their order with a side dish of humble apologies. After she managed to get them settled down and refilled their glasses, Alice hurried outside with pitcher clutched in on hand.

"Hey, I thought we agreed that I got to serve outside," Jasper said with a playful frown.

"Yes, I know, but Jasper, please switch with me," Alice pleaded.

"What? Why – oh. Right then, off you go."

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Alice stood on her toes to give Jasper a kiss on his exasperated face.

Smiling amusedly, Jasper ruffled her hair before muttering in her ear, "Don't come on too strong. You might give the poor man a heart attack."

Sticking a tongue at Jasper's retreating figure, she subtly began moving to each table to refill the water, her eyes searching out for his.

Brown met blue.

Alice felt her breath momentarily leave her before it returned with a vengeance, leaving her light headed and her mouth dry. Not wanting to seem too obvious, she gave him a small smile before returning her attention to the table she was at and making banal conversation. She did this for the next three tables, her toes impatiently curling in her heels. Finally she reached his table and as she began pouring water into his glass she tried to maintain a steady hand.

"Alice, how are you?"

His voice flowed over Alice and left her flushed. Holding the pitcher tightly to her chest, she gave the man a brilliant smile.

"I'm good. How are you?"

Conversation so similar to those of the previous tables, but it left Alice tongue-tied nonetheless.

"Good. It's beautiful today, isn't it?"

He smiled then, and Alice stared in yearning at the sweet curve of his lips and the mischievous glint in those sky blue eyes of his.

"Absolutely," Alice smiled back, heart on sleeve for the whole world to see.

The two continued to converse, unaware of the two pair of eyes gazing at them critically from inside of the café. Rosalie took in Alice's flushed cheeks and her uncharacteristically shy demeanor and let out an amused chuckle. Jasper turned towards Rosalie in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

Rosalie shook her head, "God, she's so obvious. It's amazing he hasn't noticed that she's completely in love with him."

Jasper paused, staring at the pair in scrutiny, before letting out a breath.

"No, that's not funny. It's sad if you ask me."

From the corner of her eyes, Rosalie gazed at Jasper's tight mouth and unwavering gaze before looking away.

"You're right. It is rather sad."

* * *

Gasp! Who could this mystery man be? :O


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for your reviews! They made me more happy than you can probably realize. Anyway, here's chapter two - enjoy!

Oh...and don't kill me. It'll all make sense, soon enough. ;)

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Chapter Two

Alice had met him on her fourth day of work.

Still adjusting to the chaotic atmosphere that dinner time inevitably brought, she hadn't taken notice of him until he called out, "Waitress!"

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming, hold up," she muttered, brows furrowed in concentration as she managed to balance three plates to table eight.

Turning around, she maneuvered her way until she was at his table and impatiently waiting for him to make his order. His head was bent over the menu, his hair a mess of dirty blonde strands. She saw a crescent shaped birth mark at the juncture his neck and was about to lean over to get a better look when he suddenly looked up.

It was attraction at first sight for Alice.

His soft lashes framed eyes that seemed to contain the entire sky, eyes that made Alice momentarily forget herself. He wore an apologetic smile and she was able to catch a glimpse of perfect white teeth.

_Nice_ she faintly thought.

Still smiling that heart-stopping smile, he ruefully apologized, "I'm sorry; I hadn't noticed you were busy until my big mouth had already opened."

"No, it's cool," she laughed.

She inwardly winced at how immature she sounded.

They had chatted in that manner for the next few minutes, his tone light and his eyes kind. He had only recently moved into the neighborhood and he was, he admitted with a sheepish grin, an awful cook. Finally she took his order and moved away reluctantly to the kitchen. Once she passed through the doors, her trembling legs could hold her up no longer and she sank to the ground in a daze.

"Alice, are you alright?" Rosalie was by her side in a second, her lovely eyes narrowed in worry.

Alice shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

She could only utter out two words, "Mike Newton."

Since then, Alice had been his only server. The first three times had been purely coincidental, but after that it became unspoken that Mike was Alice's customer and hers only.

Every Saturday, whether it was the morning or the evening, he came without fail and every Saturday she would stop by his table with her faithful pitcher in hand to talk to him. It was evident to everybody but Mike himself that Alice had fallen for him – hard.

"Let me guess: you want the turkey and vegetable focaccia sandwich with cranberry juice?"

Mike grinned up at her, and she had to resist brushing away the misbehaving strands of hair that fell in his eyes. "You know me too well." Heart hammering, she rolled her eyes and mumbled, "You're just too predictable. You practically eat the same thing every time you come here."

"That's because Emmet is the God of sandwiches," he joked, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Better not let him hear that or else his ego will be too big to fit into the kitchen."

Mike chuckled then and Alice had to get away before it became too obvious that she was blushing, and not from the sun's warm rays. Ruffling his hair (she couldn't help herself, it was just so damn _soft_), she told him to hold tight while she went to go place his order. Walking into the café, she found both Rosalie and Jasper staring at her. Rosalie was shooting her a knowing smirk while Jasper stared determinedly at the ground, adorning a peculiar expression.

"Shut it Rose," Alice grumbled, rubbing her still flushed cheeks.

Rosalie laughed good naturedly and simply hooked arms with her, leading Alice into the kitchen. After Alice told Emmet Mike's order, conveniently leaving out the 'God' comment, she joined Rosalie in the corner and let out a groan.

"Rose, what am I going to do? He's so attractive."

Rosalie looked thoughtful for a moment before concluding, "You're doomed."

Head in hands, Alice peeked through her fingers at Rosalie's serious expression before shutting her eyes with a miserable moan of, "I know. I am so screwed."

"Well why don't you make a move? Ask him out!"

Alice let out a snort, "Please, I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because he only sees me as a friend, and you know it too."

"Well of course. Everyone can see that," Rosalie frankly stated.

"It's true," Victoria added.

Alice winced and dryly said, "Thanks guys."

Rosalie continued on as if Alice hadn't said anything, "But that's why you need to do something about it. You have nothing to lose."

"Except for my dignity."

"You pretty much lost all your dignity the day he showed up at the café. Make him see that you're a woman, and a sexy one at that."

The fierce tone in Rosalie's voice made Alice smile. Standing up abruptly, she placed her hands on her hips and nodded to herself. "You're absolutely right. I'm am _fine_ and any guy would be lucky to have me."

Rosalie smiled. "Of course I'm right."

James gave a low whistle and a wink, mouthing to Alice, "Call me."

Alice laughed and bent down to hug Rosalie.

"Thanks Rose. For some strange reason you always know what to say," she whispered into Rosalie's ear.

"Alice, here's Mike's order," Emmet called from his spot in the kitchen, smirking at Alice when she grabbed the dish, "go easy on the poor boy."

Alice merely smiled and called over her shoulder, "Not making any promises."

Once she left the kitchen it was quiet until Emmet piped up, "Does anyone think she's actually going to get up the nerve to make a move?" All three spoke bluntly at once, "No."

Emmet shook his head and muttered to himself, "Thought as much."

Alice had been feeling rather confident in the kitchen, but as she began nearing Mike's table she could feel her heart beating faster and the palm of her hands beginning to sweat. Pausing before the door, she took a deep breath and murmured under her breath, "You can do this Mary Alice Brandon. You will go out there and you will blow him away with your womanly wiles." Now determined, she opened the door only to be greeted with the sight of Mike's amused face as he read from a worn comic book, laughing quietly to himself. His teeth were revealed in all their whiteness and Alice felt her knees weaken and her resolve wither away to nothing.

He suddenly looked up, and upon seeing Alice standing rooted near the doorway, his eyes lit up. Feeling her heart start up again, she scolded herself. _Relax; he's probably excited about the sandwich._ This, upon further inspection, was most likely true seeing as Mike had the appetite of a bull Alice mused sadly.

"That looks amazing," he licked his lips and Alice attempted not to notice the small flair of desire bloom within her stomach. Or the disappointment his words brought; _told you so._

"Even I have to admit Emmet outdid himself this time. Must've been Victoria; she's feeling particularly vicious today," Alice said laughing.

Mike, biting into the sandwich, raised a confused brow in Alice's direction.

"I'm not sure why. Must have something to do with James," here both Alice and Mike rolled their eyes in unison and Alice couldn't help but giggle at the coincidence. Mike, who was in the middle of wiping his mouth, smiled into the napkin, the corner of his eyes crinkling in amusement. Suddenly Alice felt painfully nervous and, noticing that she had forgotten to get him his juice, ran off to do so.

"God, I'm so pathetic," she grumbled to herself as she took out a Snapple and began pouring it into a tall glass.

"Having trouble with Mike?"

Alice whirled around in surprise and saw Jasper standing right behind her.

She frowned and snapped, "Jesus, Jasper, make some noise once in awhile will you?"

He simply shrugged, giving Alice an inscrutable look that had her squirming uncomfortably. She quickly turned her attention back to the drink so that he wouldn't notice. Jasper could read a person's emotion with an accuracy that bordered on frightening at times.

Adding some lime juice, she stirred the drink before putting in three ice cubes; Mike held grudges against restaurants that served their customers drinks half-filled with ice.

"It's a cheap way of making the glass look fuller," he had heatedly argued.

Well Alice couldn't counter that. It was partially true after all. But seeing as she worked at a café, she had to loyally defend it against such claims. They kept arguing until both were red in the face and feeling painfully parched.

"Water?"

"Please." Such a gentleman even after they had practically chewed each other out. It almost made Alice feel bad for what she was about to do. Almost.

She had then returned with two glasses of water, one warm and the other cool and filled with ice cubes. Grinning at him, she held her cold glass up in a friendly salute and proceeded to gulping it down in one go. Mike pretended to enjoy his as well, but Alice could tell he only did so out of stubbornness. After all it was 91 degrees Fahrenheit out.

"What are you doing this evening?" Jasper's voice broke Alice out of her trance and she blinked before answering back smartly, "working the night shift with you."

Jasper heaved an impatient breath and his grey eyes narrowed at Alice's playful smile.

"I meant afterwards."

"Why – are you asking me out on a date Jasper?" Alice teased.

His lips momentarily quirked into a grin before he retorted, "We all know it'd only count as a date to you if it was Mike Newton asking."

The smile dropped off her face and she let out a mournful sigh.

"Like that's ever going to happen," she muttered.

"Quit mopping. You're the one that likes him, so you should ask him out," Jasper scolded.

Alice pouted. "Now you're beginning to sound like Rosalie." She crossed her arms and looked outside the window at Mike's figure before smiling softly. "I know that you're both right; I'm just a coward. But is it so selfish of me to want to enjoy our friendship a bit longer before I could possibly ruin it?"

Despite her smile, her eyes were a swirl of conflicting emotions that revealed her normally shielded vulnerability and he found himself unconsciously responding. Stopping himself mid-step, Jasper looked away and gruffly answered, "Yes. It's unfair to both you and him."

Looking away from the window, Alice gave Jasper one last rueful smile before perking up and adopting a more cheerful tone, "So, what were you asking me about before?"

Jasper almost wanted to shake her and to tell her to stop acting, not in front of him, but instead he repeated what Victoria had told him before, "Everyone wants to go clubbing later tonight. You in?"

She winced, "I don't think so. I have an article that I should really start writing."

"Oh yeah? What's it about?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. Grabbing the glass she began walking back towards Mike's table. Jasper laughed in disbelief before calling out, "Slacker!" She continued on unfazed and still chuckling Jasper returned to the kitchen to see if any of the orders he placed were finished.

"Here's your cranberry juice with extra lime and barely enough ice cubes to constitute as a proper drink," Alice informed Mike cheekily as soon as she reached his table.

Still eating his sandwich, he shook his head at her.

"I refuse to get into another argument with you about something so silly."

"Hey you started it."

He gave her a cool glare to which she simply responded haughtily, "It's true."

The corner of his lips twitched before he took a long sip of the drink and let out an obnoxiously loud sigh. "Just perfect," he grinned with satisfaction and Alice laughed at his smug expression.

"You're impossible."

"Only around you," he responded mischievously.

Taking a bite out of his sandwich, he saw her watching him and mistook it for hunger.

"Want some?"

"Close your mouth when you're eating."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly behind his hand. Alice tried to ignore how endearing the act was and instead stared at the sandwich with mock disgust, "You probably slobbered all over the sandwich." Grinning at his disgruntled look, she continued to tease him: "Besides, we'll end up giving each other cooties."

Suddenly Mike leaned forward on the small table and gave her an uncharacteristically naughty grin, "Maybe I want your cooties."

Alice blushed. Was Mike Newton, who had better manners than her own grandfather, flirting with her?

Before Alice could formulate a proper response, he had already sat back down in his seat and resumed eating his sandwich. "Your loss," he said lightly behind his hand.

_My loss indeed_ she thought mournfully to herself.

Jasper's words suddenly floated in Alice's mind and she mentally steeled herself. _It's now or never._

"Are you doing anything this afternoon?" Alice attempted nonchalance, but she could feel her stomach knotting tightly and she resisted a wince.

Mike looked momentarily surprised before answering, "Nope. Free as a bird."

_Come on Alice, you've gotten this far!_ "Ah, well, I was wondering…do you want to hang out later then?"

This time she did wince; she felt and sounded like she was back in sixth grade when she was still terribly shy of the opposite sex. Mike smiled then and Alice felt the knots in her stomach intensify and for a moment all she could hear was the sound of her thumping heart. _Oh God, maybe he likes me too? Maybe this whole time I've been blind and he's been secretly pin – _

"Sounds good; is everyone else coming too?"

He was looking at her so innocently that Alice could feel herself blushing and she resisted grabbing the nearest chair and hitting him with it. _Damn it, can't he make this a little easier on me?_

Suddenly she saw 'everyone' in the corner of her eye. They were all pressed against the window, eagerly gazing at the two in front of them. Emmet was holding a thumbs-up while Rosalie was smiling encouragingly at Alice. Judging from the faces he was making, Alice was almost positive that James was making obscene noises and Victoria was clearly mouthing, "Go for it!" Jasper was the only one missing and Alice idly wondered where he was.

So far Mike hadn't taken notice of them and Alice was determined to keep it that way. Subtly scuffling tp a position that guaranteed that she was blocking his view of the window, she flicked them off behind her back. _I'm going to fucking kill them later_ she thought darkly.

Looking back at Mike, she felt her heart plummet. He was gazing at her with an amused smile on his face and a hint of confusion, but that was it. There was no hidden meaning behind his quirked lips and his eyes were clear of troublesome emotions to hide the truth. He only saw her as a friend and she was ridiculous to have thought otherwise.

Alice was hit by the sudden urge to cry and she took a deep breath before continuing, "Actually, I'm writing this article for my school's newspaper and I was wondering whether you could help me."

It was, of course, total bullshit but Mike seemed to have fallen for it and his interest was clearly piqued.

"What's it about?"

_Oh shit. What _is_ it about?_

"Err, it's about," Alice's desperate gaze landed on the comic book between them, "comic books."

"Comic books?"

Alice nodded her head vigorously, mindlessly going with the flow, "Oh absolutely. I've noticed that a lot of people at NYU are fans of comic books and I just wanted to see if there were any factors that made students less inclined to read a certain kind of comics, such as culture or sexual pairings."

Mike's eyes were wide now and Alice was unsure of whether that was a good or a bad thing. Suddenly he burst out laughing before shaking his head with a grin, "Sounds good. Although I hope you don't interrogate me as thoroughly as you're suggesting. I'm merely a humble fan."

Alice found herself smiling back, relieved that he had fallen for her lie.

Suddenly she found herself once again shy. Even though it wasn't a date she was still going to be alone with him and the idea both frightened and excited her.

"I get off at my shift at one so…"

He smiled warmly. "I'll be here waiting for you."

Those words echoed in her ears and traveled down her throat until they reached her throbbing chest.

_It doesn't mean anything Alice, snap out of it._

This, of course, didn't stop her from grinning goofily at him before going back into the café. The moment she stepped through the door she was bombarded by questions from James and Victoria.

"Did you ask him out?"

"Did he ask _you_ out?"

"I'm telling you, you should just march right up there and give him the hottest kiss of his life."

Only half-listening to them, she found herself beginning to look around the café. Strangely enough she found herself looking for Jasper, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Jasper?"

James answered with a shrug, "I think he's in the kitchen. Rosalie and Emmett went to go talk to him about something."

Alice mumbled her thanks before moving off towards the kitchen, completely missing the dark scowl Victoria shot James.

"What?" James asked defensively.

"I can't believe you just told her where they were. What if she over hears anything?" Victoria answered, her mouth curved in a displeased frown. James looked momentarily remorseful before scoffing, "Well good. Better that she finds out; the guy has been pathetically –"

"– pining over her ever since you first laid eyes!"

Jasper adopted a nonchalant pose, his arms crossed carelessly as he raised an eyebrow at the two standing in front of him.

"Hales don't pine."

Emmet let out an exasperated groan. Rosalie merely laughed before remarking condescendingly, "Oh really. So you looking like you're about to bite off Mike's head whenever you see him talking with Alice has nothing to do with the fact that you're insanely jealous?"

"Listen, I don't know just what exactly is going on in both of your heads but I do not like Alice. She's just a good friend of mine, and I don't want to see her get hurt alright? Now if you'll excuse me, I've got people to serve."

Ignoring their protests, Jasper walked between the two and headed towards the door, opening it only to collide into said friend. Alice blinked up at Jasper, before a relieved smile lit her features and she hugged him. Oblivious to the tension in his shoulders or the mocking laugh of Emmet in the background, Alice murmured into his chest, "Man, am I glad to see you right now."

"What's wrong?" The lilting drawl in his voice caused Alice to look up sharply at his face. Jasper never noticed himself, but whenever he was feeling upset she could always hear hints of a southern accent in his speech.

Feeling ashamed that she had only been thinking of herself, she shot him a cheerful grin, "Nothing that some hot tea can't remedy."

Her answer was a tight smile and Alice found herself even more worried. Finally taking note of Rosalie and Emmet standing in the kitchen, she frowned when she saw that the two were casting Jasper unnerving stares.

"Is everything alright?" she murmured, gazing at his face carefully through lashes.

His clipped "fine" suggested that everything was but.

"Right," she said, her raised brow belying her disbelief. Jasper took notice of the worried look in her eyes and forced himself to relax before ruffling her hair with a teasing smile, "What are you doing slacking off anyway? If you're not careful I might just take back my spot and start serving outside again."

"Do you want to?"

The seriousness with which she asked the question left Jasper staring at her in surprise before snorting.

"I'm _fine_."

"You're not. And I'm going to make you talk later, whether you like it or not."

"Alright alright," the amused tone made her bristle before he suddenly gave her an inexplicably sad smile, "although I really wish you wouldn't."

He had already walked away before Alice could question him. Blinking in confusion, Alice felt a heavy weight in her chest as she stared at the smooth planes of his back.

Rosalie shook her head, sighing as she leaned into Emmet's embrace.

"What a mess."

* * *

Indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

Hullo!

Just some FYI crap:

I kind of just wrote this all out in the past three hours so sorry if it sounds like verbal diarrhea. If there are any grammar mistakes or any sentences that just sound plain wrong, please don't hesitate to inform me and I'll fix it as soon as I can.

Also, as I'm sure you quickly realized, its not guaranteed yet who Alice will end up with. Or even if it is I won't be telling you. :) What can I say, I like keeping others in suspense.

Anyway, before I blab on, let me personally thank you guys for reviewing. (They really do make me happy; who doesn't enjoy an ego-boost every now and then?)

archie: I'm really glad you think so. I was worried about making Alice too different from her original character. I tend to get over my head and make the characters do very uncharacteristic things...

Pixie-Alice-Cullen: I know! I'm a total sucker for the cafe plot too! Look forward to some very juicy scenes ;)

MissLoonyLovegood: I know you :) I'm so glad you've still stuck with me - even after I've proved not to be the most consistent writer. Heh.

* * *

Chapter Three

It was one. Well, to be more exact, twelve fifty-eight, but Alice figured it wouldn't hurt anyone to round it up. She was nervously running her hand through her curls and wondered briefly whether Mike would notice that she smelled like ten different dishes at once.

"I need perfume," she grumbled, before straightening her shirt – her work shirt that was currently stained from the apple juice that the six year old at table two had spilled on her.

Pausing, she gazed in horror at the mirror. She had forgotten to bring an extra change of clothes.

_There is no way in hell I'm going out with Mike like this._

Suddenly there was a knock on the bathroom door and Jasper's muffled voice filtered through, "Alice, you're taking an awful long time just for a quick pee. Also there's a girl chatting up Mike so you might want –"

Jasper blinked as Alice abruptly opened the door and looked frantically outside only to be greeted with Mike still sitting in the same spot, still engrossed in his comic book and very much alone.

Scowling at Jasper, Alice mumbled, "That's not very nice Jas."

"Well little Jasper needs relief and I had to get you out somehow."

He said this with a solemn face but the mischievous glint in his eyes gave him away and Alice had to resist the twitch in her lips.

Instead she raised an eyebrow at him, coolly challenging him with her stare.

"You do know that there are other bathrooms."

"Yeah, but this one was much closer."

Alice rolled her eyes but smiled anyway; this was Jasper's way of checking up on her and she resisted giving him a bear hug. Jasper must have noticed the change in her demeanor because he suddenly looked embarrassed at the brief soft moment between them. Clearing his throat, he shoved her to the side before ducking into the unisex bathroom. Before Alice could utter out a protest, he gave her a wink and shut the door in her face. She couldn't resist making a face at the closed door before walking back to the kitchen, somewhat disgruntled.

Inside the bathroom, Jasper grasped the sink with both hands, leaning on it for support. He sighed before letting out a soft swear.

_Get over yourself Hale. She likes Mike._

A scowl touched his lips before he violently turned on the sink and splashed his face with cool tap water. Strands of his bangs became wet in the process and when Jasper finally had the courage to look at himself in the mirror he was chagrined to find that he was blushing, just as he thought he would be. He shook his head and swore again.

Alice was aware she had an audience of three as she paced in the kitchen, but she could care less. Emmet opened his mouth, no doubt to question her strange antics, before he quickly shut his mouth at James's shake of the head. Victoria simply laughed and got back to cooking. As soon as Rosalie entered the kitchen to grab another order, Alice paused mid-step and turned towards Rosalie.

Rosalie froze at the sudden attention and looked warily around the kitchen before her gaze returned to Alice's beseeching eyes.

"What?"

As soon as the words left Rosalie's mouth, Alice sprang back into action.

"I need to borrow your clothes."

"What? Why can't you borrow Victoria's?" Rosalie grumped, her arms crossed threateningly across her chest. Alice inwardly swore; Rosalie hated lending clothes. Scratching her nose self-consciously, Alice cleared her throat before answering, "Cause her boobs are too big."

There was silence in the kitchen and Alice diverted her gaze, eyes darting everywhere but Rosalie's direction.

"And you're saying mine are small?" Rosalie's voice was deceptively calm and Alice winced.

"Ah, no you misunderstood me. You've got a very nice chest, nicer than mine anyway, but you're closer to my size, not that I'm implying that your breasts are small because they're not; they're actually kind of big…" Alice trailed off, sure her face was a flaming red at this point, "but, um, anyway the point is could I please borrow your clothes because mine smell like apple juice and bacon and I really need to look decent for this date. Not that it is a date by any means, it's just two friends hanging out but –"

"Okay," Rosalie interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose and looking torn between being amused or horrified, "just please stop talking."

"You're a life saver Rose."

Rosalie simply glared and Alice quickly made a zipping motion with her hand before grinning cheekily at her.

"With big boobs," Emmet added, his face split in a huge grin. Even the killing intent emanating off of Rosalie could not have prevented Emmet from letting out another snort.

"Why, I think you have very nice breasts Alice," James said innocently, and Alice groaned, burying her head in her hands. Rosalie muttered under her breath, "Damn perverts" before dragging the flustered girl to the back room.

As soon as the two were gone, both men turned towards Victoria who was frowning at herself.

"Is my chest that big?"

"Oh yeah," both answered.

The two were both wiggling their brows in unison and Victoria scoffed before turning her back to them. Brandishing a sharp knife, she looked over her shoulder and gave them a stern look.

"Get back to work before I show you two just exactly how I handle lechers."

With that said she turned back her attention to the carrot in front of her and began chopping it in aggressively swift motions. Emmet winced and went back to gutting the fish, but James found himself staring at the exposed skin of her neck. An uncharacteristic smile adorned his lips and he chuckled quietly before giving her a smart salute and murmuring, "Yes ma'am."

"You look good Alice."

Rosalie was attempting to cheer Alice up and was failing horribly.

"I look like a tom-boy playing dress up," Alice wailed, pointing at the bagginess in the chest area.

"Not true."

Which would have been much more convincing had Rosalie not been struggling to keep a smile off her face. Alice looked at herself in the full length mirror and wondered briefly whether it would be better just to wear her uniform instead. She was wearing a navy cardigan that was loose on her slender frame and although she had buttoned it all the way up, the neckline still came dangerously low. All there was underneath was a plain white bra and Alice mentally reminded herself not to bend over even once during the date.

_It's not a date, we're just hanging out._

Even so, Alice found herself ruffling her hair again. Thankfully, Rosalie's white skirt fit fine on Alice, although it was a little shorter than Alice was used to; it only hit mid thigh and that was after Alice tugged on the end a couple of times. Rosalie gazed critically at Alice's feet.

"What size are you?"

Alice glanced at Rosalie in the mirror before looking down at her own feet.

"Um, roughly size eight."

Rosalie nodded her head thoughtfully before going to her locker and pulling at cream colored sandals. Alice's eyes widened and she gave an appreciative whistle.

"Lace up – nice."

Tugging off her high heels, Alice put on Rosalie's shoes and wrapped the gold-dyed thread around her calf before tying the ends in a neat bow. This time it was Rosalie who gave a low whistle, and she stared at Alice in self-satisfaction.

"Now try convincing Mike you look like a tom-boy."

Alice smiled; she had to admit, the skirt along with the sandals really did show off her legs.

_Still, I look like a kid up there._

Casting one last mournful look at her chest, she gave Rosalie a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks Rose, I definitely owe you one."

Rosalie merely smiled smugly before wrinkling her pert nose. Rummaging through her purse, she grabbed a small bottle of perfume and sprayed it on Alice without warning.

Coughing, Alice grinned at Rosalie.

"I probably needed that."

"Yeah, you really did."

When Alice went back to the kitchen, she was taken back at the sudden wolf calls and claps but did a spin for the hell of it. Giggling, she gave a curtsy before remembering the plunging neckline and straightened up, hoping that no one had noticed. To her embarrassment, her eyes met grey and judging by the flush on Jasper's cheeks, Alice was pretty sure he had definitely taken note.

"You look nice," he said quietly, wearing a small smile.

Alice felt her chest strangely tighten and before she could formulate a response, James scoffed while gazing at her and playfully licking his lips.

"Nice? You look hot!"

"You might even look better than Rose in her own clothes," Emmet agreed, before laughing at Rosalie's outraged expression. He pulled her in and gave her a small peck on her scowling lips. Although her hands were pressed against his chest to prevent him from hugging her any closer, her resistance quickly melted as he began murmuring something in her ear and kissing the tender spots on her neck.

"Enough you two," Victoria drawled before turning towards Alice with a twinkle in her eyes, "you better hurry; the poor guy has been waiting for you for almost half an hour. Although it's definitely worth the wait – after he sees you he'll probably swoon with love at first sight."

Alice gave a cheesy wink, "That's the idea."

Giving one last twirl, without the dip, she took a deep breath before leaving the kitchen and walking towards Mike's table. So absorbed in his comic was Mike, that it wasn't until Alice was standing in front of him did he take notice. Glancing up, he looked back down to his comic before doing a double take.

"Wow Alice, you look hot."

Alice smiled shyly, all the while mentally cheering.

_Score!_

"Sorry for making you wait so long," she modestly answered back. Mike simply grinned up at her and shrugged his shoulders endearingly, "Nah don't worry about it. I had Nancy to keep me company."

Alice blinked. _Who the hell is Nancy?_

"Nancy?"

The corner of Mike's eyes crinkled in amusement at her obvious confusion and showed her the page that he was currently on in the comic. A slender woman with a generous chest smirked sensuously at Alice, scantily clad and wearing a cowboy hat over her long hair. Alice ran a hand through her short curls and snorted.

"Right, that Nancy."

He blushed, before defensively holding the book to his chest.

"Hey, Nancy and I have a long history."

Laughing, Alice shook her head and, writing on thin air, furrowed her brow while seriously murmuring to herself, "Somewhat delusional; believes to have a relationship with a make-believe character."

Mike began chuckling with her, and Alice felt warmth spread through her being at his smile.

_He's smiling – smiling at _me_. _

"Well, where shall we go?"

Alice pretended to think for a bit, but the truth was she had day dreamed multiple times about going on a date with Mike and she knew exactly where she wanted to go. She would have to tweak it a bit though; after all, they were supposed to be on an interview.

"There's this huge comic store near Williams Avenue and I happen to be very familiar with an ice cream café just around the corner from there."

To her relief, Mike looked both impressed and excited.

"That sounds good. What's the name of the store?"

This time Alice really did have to pause before answering. She remembered Emmet and James gushing over its opening a couple of weeks back, both letting out impressively high squeals.

_Ah, that's right; it's called_ "Alien Planet."

Mike's mouth opened and closed before he clutched his heart and gazed at her adoringly.

"I love you."

"Get a grip," Alice mumbled, partly embarrassed and partly pleased.

"I'm serious! Nancy has nothing on you!"

Alice laughed before giving him a mock frown, "I think Nancy would be very sad to hear that."

"Yeah, well she's not taking me to only the most amazing comic store ever."

Raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but look at Mike dubiously.

"Is it really that impressive?"

Mike nodded his head somberly before answering, "It's heaven. Everything is in that store; there's not one comic that you can't find there."

Resisting a snort at the reverence in his tone (she could not, however, help rolling her eyes. _Honestly._), Alice smirked at him.

"Well, what are you waiting for then?"

By the time they reached the store, Alice was winded from laughing at Mike's ridiculous level of enthusiasm. He reminded her of a little boy, talking non-stop on the way about which comic books were worthy of the title and which she should look out for. Alice had simply brushed off his suggestions, casting an impish grin at him.

"Please, you read ones that border on being pornography. I think I'll judge the books myself thank you very much."

Ignoring his gasp of indignation she walked faster, only to have him pull her back. Attempting to disregard the fact that he had held her hand, however fleetingly, she smiled innocently at him.

"I'll have you begging me to lend you my comic books by the end of the day," he said arrogantly, eyes crinkled and lip pulled back in a wicked smile. Heart fluttering madly, Alice accepted his challenge.

"Loser has to buy the winner ice cream."

"Fine."

They both shook hands, all the while grinning madly at each other.

After spending two and half hours in the book store (Alice had to admit, it was rather impressive) they both finally conceded to a tie. Hogging up the scandalously comfortable arm chairs, they both had piles of comic books lying by their feet and Alice found herself peeking over the top of the comic she was holding over at Mike's figure. To her surprise, he was doing the same but instead of getting flustered as she currently was, he merely grinned lazily at her.

"Enjoying yourself?"

_If only he didn't sound so damn good while being smug._

"Better than I thought I would," Alice lightly answered, eyes flickering between the inked page in front of her and Mike's amused smile.

"So stubborn," he murmured before getting up to stretch. Alice tried not to ogle and instead stared determinedly at her comic. She was gazing particularly hard at the character (_What was his name again?_) and didn't notice when Mike walked towards her until he was standing right in front of her. Glancing up, she was startled and accidently snapped, "Jesus, Jasper, make some noise will you?"

Alice immediately realized her mistake and covered her mouth, eyes widened in embarrassment.

"Ah, sorry – Jasper's always doing that and I always say that. It's become a bad habit I'm afraid."

Mike gave her a kind smile before shrugging, "No biggie. But what do you mean by 'that'?"

"He's always sneaking up on me; I think he takes pleasure in scaring the crap out of me."

Alice scowled, but her anger was belied by the softening of her eyes. Mike studied her expression briefly before a grin of realization lit his features.

"Right," he drawled.

Alice's attention was diverted by the tone of his voice, and she couldn't help but feel cautious at the sight of his smirk.

"What?" she warily asked.

Mike's smile merely grew even larger. Standing up, he practically sang out, "Nuh-thing" before moving towards the door, "shouldn't we be going now?"

Glancing out her watch, Alice let out an agitated breath and scrambled out of her chair. She had completely lost track of the time and had to get back to the café in half an hour. Frantically she collected her things, and the two exited the store before pausing to say goodbye.

"I'm so sorry; maybe we'll have that ice cream next time?" Alice inwardly winced at how hopeful she sounded.

"Sure thing," Mike suddenly smiled slyly, "and we could make it a double date. You could bring Jasper and I could bring my girlfriend."

_Wait, what?_

"What?"

"Well, you like Jasper don't you? You could take the opportunity to ask him out. Besides, Jessica's been bugging me to go to that ice cream café for weeks and I'd like you to meet her."

Completely stunned, all Alice could manage was a small jerk of the head and a dazed, "Sounds great."

That seemed good enough for Mike and he gave a cheerful wave before heading towards the opposite direction. Alice simply stood there on the pavement, replaying the conversation in her head.

"_We could make it a double date. You could bring Jasper and I could bring my girlfriend." _

"_I'd like you to meet her."_

"_My girlfriend."_

"Oh my god," Alice murmured softly, "I think I'm going to be sick."

By the time Alice had gotten back to the café, it was already six. Walking through the doors, she ignored the five questioning stares currently drilling through her head and went straight to the backroom. She was numbly unbuttoning the cardigan and had taken it off when Jasper suddenly burst through the door. Both stared at each other in shock, Jasper's heavy breathing the only noise in the room. It idly occurred to Alice to cover her chest, but she remained still, her arms heavy by her side. It wasn't until Jasper's eyes trailed lower than her neck that both reacted. Her arms finally got the message and crossed defensively over her chest while Jasper quietly groaned, stuttered an apology before slamming the door shut behind him.

Alice stared at the now empty space in stupefaction. _What the hell just happened?_

Before she could even blink, much less put back on her uniform, the door was ripped open again and just as quickly closed. Jasper's determined face was staring straight at her and without breaking glance he strode until he was an arms-length away.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Nothing."

"Did something happen on the date?"

Alice felt caught in his heated stare and was almost afraid of looking away.

She finally did, unable to handle the tense situation and deliberately overlooked the question.

"Never knew you were such an open peeping tom."

"Never knew you were such a bad liar," Jasper countered.

Eyes narrowed, Alice couldn't help but let a little annoyance seep out in what she said next: "So, what were you talking about with Rosalie and Emmet earlier? Or is it a secret?"

An emotion that she was unable to decipher flashed in his eyes before the liquid metallic steeled and he took a step forward. Alice refused to budge.

"Don't change the subject."

"What – that your name is actually Tom?"

"Cute," Jasper scoffed.

Alice knew she was being childish but she couldn't help but stick her tongue out at him. Jasper stiffened at her action and he clenched his fists before closing his eyes and counting under his breath to ten. She immediately felt bad; she had no right to act like a total brat towards Jasper.

_He's just trying to help Alice; it's not like you weren't being nosy earlier._

Letting out a quiet breath, she opened her lips to apologize but the words died on her tongue when Jasper reopened his eyes. His lids were half-closed, and the dim lighting of the room caused the coloring of his eyes to melt to a sinful black. Alice felt her heart beat faster and she wondered whether he could hear it; it echoed deafeningly in her ears. As if he could read her mind, his lips quirked at the ends and he took another step towards her until she could feel his heat enveloping her. It certainly didn't ease her nerves that every breath he took skimmed the top of her head.

"Alice," he murmured her name quietly under his breath and she found herself flushing at the husky tenor of his voice.

He had even added the soft drawl; he knew she was a sucker for his accent.

"What?"

It was supposed to come out defensive but Alice was embarrassed to find that she had squeaked at the end. She cleared her throat before repeating the question, this time with a scowl on her lips. This, of course, did not deter Jasper in the least. Instead he smirked and leaned forward so that their lips were dangerously close.

_Don't back down, don't back down, oh dear God why is he standing so damn close?_

"Nice underwear. I've always had a thing for hello kitty." Jasper's amused voice broke Alice's reverie and she found herself staring at him in confusion before the weight of what he said sank in her mind. Looking down at her skirt, she was mortified to find that not only was it unzipped but it was resting dangerously low on her hips, allowing for a bow-tie adorned kitty to wave hello. She glanced back up and had to hold herself back from punching the smug look on Jasper face.

He suddenly took a step back, body shaking from silent laughter. Alice stared at him in angry silence, cheeks stained red. Still chortling, he grinned at her and before she could protest he took her into his arms.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snarled.

Jasper was still laughing in her curls, arms wound around her waist and hands resting on the curve of her hips. Alice tried to ignore the burning sensation and instead focused on her anger – an anger that was quickly diminishing once he began wheezing out an apology.

"I'm s-sorry."

Alice couldn't help but smile at how pained he sounded. When his fingers grazed the sensitive skin of her sides, she squirmed and let out a choked giggle. Almost at once he stopped laughing and, stomach filling with dread, Alice pushed violently at his chest attempting to get out of his hold. She nearly succeeded too, when his naughty grin filled her vision and she opened her mouth to plead but it became caught in her throat at his next action. He began tickling her and she let out an angry shriek, twisting in his grasp.

"Please let me go!" she laughed breathlessly, eyes glazed over with tears, "Argh, uncle!"

So intent on getting away, Alice never noticed the tender gaze on Jasper's face or the fact that he had maneuvered them until he was sitting down on the bench and he had pulled her gently onto his lap. He finally stopped tickling her and instead opted for resting his hands back on the small of her back. She laid her forehead on his shoulder, trying to regain her breath.

"You sick bastard," she grumbled.

He chuckled and she could feel his chest rumbling gently underneath her palms.

It reminded Alice of a kitten's purr and she closed her eyes in exhaustion, feeling drowsy warmth beginning to spread through her veins.

"Thank you."

Her voice was unusually quiet and Jasper unconsciously tightened his grip.

"Didn't know it was normal to thank your torturer," he mused out loud, index finger trailing down the arch of her spine.

Alice shivered and pinched his ear, "Cut it out."

"Ow," Jasper scowled, rubbing his lobe. "That wasn't very nice; I think you should kiss it better."

She laughed before pushing herself up. Jasper frowned up at her before rubbing his arms in a pathetic manner.

"I'm cold, come back."

She chose to ignore him and shimmied out of her skirt instead.

_What the hell – he's seen practically everything anyway,_ her mind reasoned.

Once she put on her uniform and straightened her apron, she turned back around. Alice was surprised to find that Jasper was staring down at the ground, his neck lightly flushed.

"What's with the sudden virgin act?" Alice snorted out.

Jasper merely glowered in her direction but it quickly melted off his face at the sight of her good humored smile. He let out a sigh before getting up to walk over to her. Mussing her hair, he grinned when she let out a low growl and shoved him away playfully.

Although she was now happier than she was when she came back, Jasper couldn't help but voice his concerns once more.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'll talk when you do," she replied evenly, once again referring back to the incident earlier this morning.

Jasper let out an annoyed groan.

"Fine."

Before he could walk out of the door, Alice held onto the back of his shirt, tugging at it so he wouldn't leave.

"I'm sorry," she was earnestly looking at him and Jasper felt his heart lurch.

"I just don't feel like talking about it now. Can we talk about it later tonight?"

Jaspers eyes narrowed in confusion before it dawned on him.

"So you are going out with us after all?"

"Well I think I deserve a drink after what happened today."

"But what about your article?"

Jasper felt ridiculous worrying over her like this; he knew she probably didn't appreciate it. The others joked behind his back about him being a mother hen but he couldn't help it.

He was constantly concerned about her.

She grinned to herself humorlessly and simply quipped, "I think I've gotten enough information for one day."

"Alright," Jasper said doubtfully.

"Oh quit being such a wet blanket, you're worse than my parents."

Jasper winced.

* * *

Silly Jasper :)

BTW: a wet blanket is pretty much a spoil sport. Just a quick terminology class.


End file.
